


Wanderlust

by yuyugami



Category: Etrian Odyssey Series, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, 世界樹の迷宮V 長き神話の果て | Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth
Genre: Dimension Travel, Gen, It's mostly Zen+Rei & OCs, Self-Indulgent, Team Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27875613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuyugami/pseuds/yuyugami
Summary: In which Zen and Niko, after saying their goodbyes to S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team, ends up in another world. The one with a very large tree and people who aren't very human.
Relationships: Rei & Original Characters, Rei/Zen (Persona Series), Zen & Original Characters
Kudos: 6





	Wanderlust

Zen wakes up with a lack of fanfare - no screaming, no freaking out. He sits up, and is immediately taking in the foreign room. The walls are wooden, it was homely, yet it was devoid of any personal belongings. The amount of people he senses suggests that this place is a commodity of some sort, an inn perhaps. Although the bed was _soft_ , it is odd to be sleeping in any kind of bed that wasn't of the medical variety. Next to him, Niko's snoring away, a content look on her face. Zen brushes off the strands of hair that stuck to her cheek and smiles.

Wherever they were, he could tell it is safe. He needs not worrying over Rei so much now, for more reasons than one.

In his contemplation, a set of padding footsteps echoes out from the hallway. Light on its feet. Zen then notices the absence of a door in the room. It's a good thing - probably, as doors spelled for more trouble than not when opening doors in the labyrinth and the twin-tailed nor the scarfed girls were here to warn them about enemies lying in wait. They - he and Niko - left them when their fates split, that much he remembers. He wouldn't ever forget about the group of fate-crossed teenagers, even if they did forget about him and Nice. ( _Admittedly, that fact had made him... feel sorrow, another thing he could not understand. Humans come and go all the time, why now that he finds the fact so wrenching?_ )

The steps grow closer in volume and Zen prickles, reaching for his crossbow despite his previous assurance of safety. Just because the place is safe doesn't mean the people in it _are_. His crossbow is nowhere in his range, nor sight. That is… worrying.

A high humming voice follows suit the set of steps, and the smell of delicious food soon after - Zen was not Niko, but he was sure he would have been drowning in drool if he was. Worry still nagged him - but what enemy would be so charitable as to give them such a comfortable bed?

The threat proves itself not to be a threat, as the smell of... porridge, he thinks, stirs the hunger in his stomach. A head pokes itself in. The person looks mostly human. 

Save for the large, green rabbit ears on their head. 

Zen blinks at that. As far as he knew, that is not... normal. Neither was he, nor the shadow prancing around as a boy in a mascot costume, nor was the robot, or the dog that has what most humans didn't... Point made. Fate decided that there would never be anything normal surrounding him. 

The ears seem both and less real as the person - woman, now that she peers more than her head in - gasps, her rabbit ears shooting up accordingly. "Oh! You're awake!" She says in surprise. Awake, he was... "Wait a sec! I'll get them!" She frantically says, scurrying off with the tray of porridge clattering and shaking in her hold.

...Them? Who was them?

Ending up in a weird place doesn't seem to rattle Zen anymore, as long as Niko was by his side. He is more powerful now, protecting the things he wanted to was easier. He turns to the sleeping Niko, patting her head just before she rolls over to a new position. He smiles. Still, even with his newfound powers, he puts his guard up, especially at the prospect of meeting a 'them'. The woman with the rabbit ears - judging by the footsteps - comes again rather quickly, now with a choir of footsteps following her. 

The woman pokes her head in again. "Hello!" She greets him and enters the room, the tray of porridge, now with drops of it spilled on the tray, is set on the desk next to him. He supposes that it was meant for him and Niko - though why hadn't she put it beforehand? "I'm Jenetta!" Cheerful. Almost as much as Niko. Zen not-so-subtly stares at her massive rabbit ears. A group comes in, "these people found you two in The Tree!" she motions, and Zen finally notices the group crowded in the room - five of them, one incredibly small, one with ears pointier than ones humans have, and two sporting the same as Jenetta's. The odd one out was strangely, the human, or at least who Zen thinks is human. "I'll leave you all to it!" And with that, she leaves.

The one with pointy ears - with messy brown hair and a pair of goggles slung over his neck - stares at him oddly. Zen responds in like. The boy cracks under his blank stare, however, as he bites his lip and looks away. 

There are more pressing matters, though. "And you are…?" Zen does not recognise any single one of them, not at all for the (supposed) innkeeper to just "leave them all to it", in her words. 

They must've interpreted his words in hostility, "woah, woah, step down!" The one with red hair and large (yet still smaller than Jenetta's own) animal-like ears puts a hand up. "We saw ya 'n ya friend ov'r there knocked out in Th'Tree. So Jeno ov'r here," he motions towards the human with slicked back hair and knuckle braces, "proposed that we save yer asses!" The man boisterously laughs. Zen narrows his eyes, not entertained by the man's arrogance. 

"But um... brother, you're the one who was really insistent on it..." The pointy-eared one mumbles, almost escaping Zen's hearing. Brother? Yet he seemed to lack the same big animal-like ears the other had, nor did his lanky, slim body resemble the other's built, large one. 

"By the way! M'names Syn!" The red haired animal-man points to himself, "Quote," then to the pointy eared one, his supposed "brother", "Jiggy," the other animal-eared boy waves, "Jeno, though you already know that." He motions to the human.

"And I'm Bianca! Miss Bianca!" The tiny... girl? exclaims, jumping. Zen can still barely see her though. 

They introduced themselves to him, so it would be prudent if he weren't to return the favour. "This is..." Rei? "..Niko. I'm... Chronos." He hesitates. 

The one with pointy ears - Quote - slips out a surprised, "ah." He turns awfully pale, looking at him with suspicion.

"Hm?" Zen hums, interested in that response. He didn't expect recognition. 

It puts the boy on the spot, "u-um... the one with a H or the one without...?" What does that have to do with anything? The boy's company is equally as perplexed with the question than he is, save for the tiny little girl. Was there any other Chronos, with or without the H he should know of?

"The one with the H I'm sure...?" It doesn't matter to him, Zen never had to spell it out, nor did he have the opportunity to do so, with the exception of right now.

The man seems relieved, the blood drained from his face slowly going back to it. "Time, then, the personification of time." Was the other option so bad?

The younger-looking animal-person grins and laughs. "You and him, the same!" He points out. In what way? Quote takes curiosity in the statement. Zen too, wants to know. After a beat of silence, he responds, "pretend Gods!" and laughs.

That is… a scathing remark. Zen does not know how to respond to that except with a monotone, "that is up for you to decide."

"Oh, I can see it, Jiggs." Syn says, shaking his head, "oh Yggy! More Quotes ta' deal with."

"Chronos is _not_ a God! He's a _personification_ of time! There's a _difference_ , Jiggy..." No defense for either Zen nor himself it seems. "Also, brother, you know you love me." What an odd group, Zen surmises. Closer than both S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team combined. A group that had more than a few brushes with death and grinned in the face of it, he could tell

"You can teach me later!" Is Jiggy's reply. 

The loud banter makes Niko stir. A groan escapes her mouth and she wearily blinks. "Uhnn.." She slowly sits up, rubbing her eyes, "where am I...?" The girl mutters before seeing their saviours. She shrieks and hides herself behind Zen's back. "Zen, wh-who?! What? Where?" She frantically shoots questions. Their company isn't surprised at her reaction, they must've expected some kind of panicked reaction. "Z-Zen! They have-!" Animal ears, and pointy ears, and she probably had questions.

"Yes." He whispers back to her, "it is... normal, in this world, it seems..." He shuffles over, giving her more room to hide. 

"We're in a different world?" She whispers back, sending a quizzical look towards him, to which he cannot reply properly to. 

"...It's alright. I have been conversing with them." Quite decently, at that. Though, his conversations left him with none of his questions answered. "They are good people. Like Narukami and Arisato." Apparently, Niko and himself had a knack of meeting others through being lost. 

He introduces them again one by one. All but Quote try to give a good impression. 

"Also, Zen?" One of the strange people asks - Bianca, the tiny girl, "Niko here calls you Zen, but do you want us to call you Chronos?" 

"...Zen is fine." He gave out Niko's real name (which to him, is a much better name for her than Rei is, if not for the constant reminder to smile), so it was fair he introduced himself with his. But Zen sounds more human than Chronos is, so he favours it more than the other. 

"Great!" She says with exuberance. "Now - since you guys are up and all now, do you remember where this is?" She asks. Zen doesn't know how long he has been knocked out for, but his senses tell him that she was someone not to be trifled with, or there would be a large amount of "paranormal activity"… In any case, she is someone close to Death itself. A kindred feeling wallows up inside himself, yet he is wary of her. 

"Not at all." He wouldn't. He had never been to this place. Zen nudges the hiding Rei. She shakes her head. 

"Nope, not even a little." She says with fear in her voice - he understands her concerns, it would truly be awful if their memories disappear again.

"And... you said something about a tree?" Zen asks, finally bringing that topic up. What tree would pose a threat to them? Why would they need to be saved from a tree? It's a curious case indeed. Maybe the trees here would start hopping around and attack people randomly. The question elicits a confused look from most of the group, excluding Jiggy, and Quote, who has an awe-struck look on his face.

"Of course...! You're from another world, aren't you?" He gasps, pounding a fist into an open palm, as if he figured everything out. Zen jolts at how exceedingly accurate his guess was. His teammates, however, weren't the bit amused by what they think is a poor attempt at a joke.

"Really?!" Except for Jiggy who excitedly jumps on the statement. Really, they were. 

"Or, they've hit their heads a bit too hard. Maybe sniped by one of those damned stupid cicadas - too strong than they had the right to be," Jeno grumbles, "although... Can you really not remember The Tree? Yggdrasil? Does that ring in your minds?"

"Yggdrasil? What's that…?" Rei asks. 

"Look out th'window. Really stick yer heads out!" Syn replies, to which Rei does, crawling to the nearest window by her side. 

"Wooow!" She exclaims. The amazement in her voice palpably clear. "Zen- Zen- c'mon you gotta look!" She turns around and tugs him by the sleeve. Zen doesn't resist getting dragged her; he was already planning to look. 

He finds her amazement relatable.

The Tree was _large_ \- _massive_ \- no, both of those doesn't even begin to properly describe it. Zen has to crane his head upwards to see the faint suggestions of green leaves on the top. It smells like danger, and Zen was sure that punching white-haired fellow and the kicking brown-haired girl would have a field day tackling it. 

At some point though, Zen and Rei had to stick their heads back in - much to the girl's dismay. "That Tree, Yggdrasil, holds a really huge amount of monsters." Jeno begins, "and people like us, adventurers, climb it and map it out and stuff. I assume both of you were, since we saw you in there... Remember anything about your teammates? We just found the both of you so..." A regretful look passes on his face. Zen does not quite get the implication.

Was the tree just like the labyrinths back at Yasogami High? If so, "I guess you can call us that - adventurers. And for our teammates, we... left them." The sorrowful feeling is back again. 

"You left them?!" Jeno shouts in disbelief. The word " **IDIOTS** ," clearly on his face. 

"Bold, I like it!" Syn laughs.

"Brother, you of all people should not be saying that..."

"We had no choice. We had to go our seperate paths one day or another," it is a shame that fate wouldn't let them reunite - at least him and Niko with either of the two groups (Zen _would later find out the untimely death of a certain headphone-wearing somebody but…_ ), "besides… Niko is still with me." He wraps an arm around her, grabbing her tight.

Niko relaxes at his words. Jeno scratches his head at their apparent "sheer stupidity", if the expression is anything to go by. Syn has a thoughtful expression for a while, until it grows smug. _...What is it with this guy?_ Quote, seeing his brother's change in expression sighs and rolls his eyes. "...What about your Adventurer's License?" Jeno continues with the questions. 

"Adventurer's License?" Niko parrots. She tilts her head. 

"Do you not have one?" Jeno pulls a card out. One that was obviously broken to pieces once or twice, held together with copious amounts of glue and tape. It has all of his information on it, as far as Zen can make out, his name, age, picture, a specialised signature at the bottom, the name of the town - "Iorys", and… a "class". 

"...We never needed one," Zen answers. They came and went as they pleased back in Yasogami High, permission be damned. Not that they needed permission to enter the labyrinth, since their leaders had already made it a second home - mostly because it would lead to their first. 

Jeno shoots a puzzled look. "It's pre'y impor'ant, since the guards can verify if yer qualified enough 'r not ta pass thru the gate." Syn, surprisingly, replies. He seemed like the type of person to boast that he didn't need one to prove his strength. This one had a few more brushes with deaths than the others, Zen could definitely tell.

A growling noise comes from someone's stomach. And that someone _isn't_ Niko, however. Jiggy looks at the group and shrugs. "Tavern?" An invitation, Zen supposes. 

"Does it serve food?" Niko asks, to which Jiggy replied with a vigorous nod. They could get lunch, with the porridge being a cold mess and all. Niko isn't able to stave off hunger with _just_ two bowls of porridges anyways. "A lot?" Jiggy keeps on nodding. 

"We don't have the money…" 

"It's alright, we'll pay off the expenses!" Jeno offers. 

Zen tries to give a wry smile at him as best as he could. It only confused the man.

Bianca hollers, "yeah! To the tavern we go!" Her words immediately put a wet towel on Quote, Syn, and Jeno's moods. They don't seem too excited at the prospect of lunch - which, frankly, Rei does not get at all. What's there to dislike about getting lunch?

* * *

There is, in fact, something to dislike about getting lunch.

It was the wine. And Bianca (who both Zen and Niko realise, is very well, of age) chugging down the wine like it's water in the desert. The waitress is having trouble keeping up with delivering the glasses upon glasses of wine - actually has given up on it, giving them a jug of wine instead. Niko would feel bad to cumber her with the task of delivering her plates of food but… it was too good, she couldn't care less! 

It was miles better than the student-made yakisobas and takoyakis and corndogs, and _that_ was already miles better than the food she'd eat during her life in the hospital! It was like another tier of good food! 

As Niko swallows down her food as if it were air, Zen is looking awkwardly at Bianca. He was no stranger to drinking - he has seen a fair share of his own, some of the people he accompanied to Death reeked of alcohol, swaying ever so slightly in a stupor. Still, seeing a woman with as small of a body as hers go through all of that wine was, a bit disorienting, admittedly. It was still midday, too. 

"...It happens all the time," Jeno tries to assure him. The fact that it happens semi-regularly does not instill confidence in Zen. "We're regulars anyways, and the barkeep is friends with us - kind of. We bring her business." That is… slightly reassuring. "Anyways. What are you guys intending to do?" 

He brings up a genuine question. What _are_ they going to do? Zen doesn't prefer anything, as long as Niko is around, and the same could be said of Niko. This world is interesting. Maybe they could live a semblance of a normal life here. That sounds... nice. It does mean that he has to hide away from work for a while, but he has no qualms over Death being able to take care of its work by itself. Death is a concept that exists in all realities, _everywhere_. Still… Niko and him would still be hard-pressed to find money. He is less sure that anybody would take in two-supposedly amnesiacs in weird clothing as employees. 

I... do not know." As long as Niko is by his side, he is more than content. 

Syn hums, a grin on his face, "yer adventurers b'fore, right? Why not go back to that?" That's the problem - "if it's about th'whole Adventurer's License thing, Egar hands it out like it's free candy! I'd go here in th'first place if I knew…" He grumbles at the end. "Ya can join us, if y'really want ta!" He offers. 

Zen looks over to Niko, who stops her munching for just a second. He himself doesn't see the problem with that. He feels at home dealing Death to others, human or not. It must be his nature. "If you'd like us there…" Niko says bashfully. "Is it fun? If it is, then can we join you?" 

Zen looks back at Jeno, with a conflicted face. "I would like to… but I do not have a weapon at the moment. My crossbow has gone missing." 

"Crossbow?" Bianca pipes up, swaying in her high-seat after an amount of drinks Zen did not keep track of. "I sold it!- _hic_ \- got some _real good_ money for it too- _hic_ \- cuz Syrik said it looked cool and he wanted to know how it- _hic_ \- works-!" She toasts a celebration to herself, a job, in her opinion, well done.

"You sold it?!" Zen and Jeno both loudly proclaim. Rei jumps at the sudden clatter disturbing her from Zen standing up. He apologises to her, and lets her resume back to her meals. Jeno, who seems more angry than he himself is, lets out a long, dragged, sigh. "I'm going to tell Apollo about this."

Bianca looks physically distraught at the threat, surprising Zen with the speed of that mood shift. This Apollo person must hold a lot of power above her. He keeps in mind the power hierarchy. "Nooo! Anything but tha- hic- that! He's so meeeaaaan!" She dramatically sobs, "I's sure if we- hic- beg hard enough Syrik'd give 'em back! He can never resist... my... womanly… charms... _zzz_." Thud… She falls asleep in the middle of complaining. Zen gives up on understanding for now. He at least found a compromise, at some point, with the group before. 

Syn grabs Jiggy's coat and drapes it over the sleeping woman. It must have been an often occurrence as the younger-looking animal-person doesn't seem the slightest bothered with it. "Crossbow?" Though, is what Jiggy puzzles himself with. Does he not know what a crossbow is? 

"It's like a bow, but automatic." Syn replies. "Ya' went with Bianca, didn't'cha? How come ya' didn't know what it looked like?" The boy shrugs in return. 

The clatter of plates signal Rei's end with her meal. And thusly so, Rei wins again against the mountainful of meals. And they were apparently adventurer side, to cater to people who spent all day fighting and navigating dangerous places, that is to say, it was for people with voracious appetite. 

"...If Zen and Niko were to join, would they even be let in? Doesn't the guild set up a five-people limit per guild?" Quote brings up the topic. 

"Well." Is what Syn replies with. 

"I mean, you could have them register as another guild? Just tell Egar that we'll be teaching them the ropes. You know they're crazy about teamwork and stuff, right?" Jeno offers.

"...That's plausible…"

They are conversing amongst themselves now, it seems. Niko pulls at his sleeves. "I'm glad you're here." She says all too sudden. A smile is on her face, not the wide one as Rei when they were both lost in their lack of memories. It is both Niko and Rei at the same time. Sad and happy on the same side of the coin. Humans are truly an anomaly. And as such, they will keep on fascinating him.

Why do people want to die, when they have been granted a chance to live? Why do they feel sorrow and fear when they do? Is it not just the cycle of life? So many questions, so many left unanswered. Zen supposes an existence such as his will never begin to understand. 

"Still, adventuring again, huh? A big tree... and people who aren't human." She chuckles sadly to herself, "I guess I'm not wholly one, too."

Zen is silent for a few moments, "you aren't, but we can try to live. That is our duty." He replies. They were given life, no matter how pitiful it was - that enough is a reason to live. Niko frowns at that answer, but she doesn't push it either. 

Jiggy glances over to them, curious at their conversation. But he doesn't say much, or indicated that he followed, really.

It was quite a while until Syn is the first to notice their neglect upon them, and apologises. "Sorry! If it's dandy with ya, we'll be sortin' stuff out tomorrow - head back to the inn f'r now. We're gon'a get back yer crossbow!" He apologises and leaves along with Jeno and Quote, thus leaving them with Bianca and Jiggy, both of which were still enigmas to him. 

Jiggy was the first to stand up, waving to the barkeep, and simply shouted, "on the tab!" through the chatter that never left a moment of silence. He picks up the lady - Bianca, like a sack of potatoes. He sends an apologetic signal to the barkeep, probably for the mess their group caused and dismissing himself from the tavern, Zen and Rei tailing behind. 

Outside, he puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles. Immediately, a wolf runs over to them and a hawk swoops down low, both in speeds Zen thought was impossible for animals. The hawk rests on Jiggy's outstretched, guarded arm, and the wolf finds itself comfortable in the gap between his legs. 

"Uwaah! So cute!" Niko fawns over them, the wolf especially. Jiggy smiles as if he had won a tournament. 

"You, meet with them." He says, in a broken sentence. "Niche," He lifts a little of his arm, signalling the bird's introduction. Said bird caws in an elegant fashion, outstretching her wings. "Sylvie," he turns towards his canine companion who barks out an introduction. 

"Woow! A real hawk and a real wolf! I never thought I'd meet them! Can I pet them- Can I?" Niko is completely _all over_ them, more so than she was with the dog in the S.E.E.S group. The girl pets the bird's wing, careful not to mess up any of its feathers all the while having stars in her eyes. She ruffles the wolf instead, and shakes its paws. "Hi Sylvie, Niche! I'm Niko, it's so nice to meet you!" 

After her introduction, every pair of eyes in that group turns to him. "...Likewise, I am also pleased to meet you."

Suffice to say, this will be quite interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> this is 100% self indulgent, u know it, i know it, and god sure as hell does. 
> 
> between an obscure game and a semi-dead one, instead of writing for each one, i decided to do both! and it turned out more fun that i expected it to be
> 
> mega thanks for reading!
> 
> if youre wondering who is what portrait, syn is masurao male 1, jeno is dragoon male 1, quote is warlock male 1, jiggy is rover male 1, and bianca is shaman female 2


End file.
